It is wonderful Tony that you wanted to make things easier for your
wife.After a very long & traumatic delivery, complete with fractured
tailbone, my husband too, on the advice of our well-meaning doctor, tried to
make things easier for me by feeding a bottle in the nighttime hours.
Unfortunately, it did contribute to a nipple-confused baby, slow to gain
baby (as we just didn't get on the right track, & this was certainly
partially attributable to the bottles, which gradually increased as my
confidence decreased) & an early, sad weaning.
Yes, my husband enjoyed giving the bottles, but I know he would have enjoyed
even more a happy breastfeeding relationship occurring under our roof, as he
subsequently did with the others, as it was just as important to him as it
was to me. & of course, he bonded with our 3 other children, without
bottles.
So giving bottles is not always a path taken with no detriment to
breastfeeding. & I have posted on this before (it's obviously my special
subject!) so I won't go on & on.
& yes it is beneficial to explain negatives of rubber nipples to the working
mom: who knows, perhaps she has other options she hasn't considered, longer
maternity leave, part-time work, working from home. I realize that the U.S.
does not have the same maternity leave that we have here in Canada making
breastfeed & working more challenging, but the older a baby is when mom
returns to work, the more options open up: cups instead of bottles, solid
food, etc.

Deborah Sowery-Quinn
Canada

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